Daily viva help for PhDs
Try not to overthink the viva.
It’s an exam, but just an exam. It’s an important conversation, but still just people discussing things. They’re asking questions, simply looking for honest responses.
Each question is a chance to add something to the viva, but is also just a question.
Preparation is about getting ready, not being perfect. Photographic recall and encyclopaedic knowledge are not required.
Overthinking won’t help you prepare for or get through the viva.
Outside of maths, solutions can sometimes be tricky to find.
There are, however, lots of approaches that might work for all of these for you. You need to sit back, think about your needs, your research, your situation – and your solution will present itself.
You have the solution to all of your problems. Advice and expectations help – but if you solved the problems you found along the way through your PhD, you can solve any and all problems you find around your viva.
I don’t know what I will do if my viva is four hours long!!!
You could ask for a break… And most vivas aren’t that long.
Ahhh, but when the examiners ask me really mean questions what if they won’t give me time to think???
They’ll ask questions but they won’t be mean. Questions might be tough, but they will definitely give you time to think.
And another thing: I’ve spent three years on this, what if they ask me to complete corrections????!!!!
Most people are asked to complete corrections. Most of the time they don’t take too long to do.
I’m not being flippant: viva worries and concerns are legitimate and they need to be addressed. In my experience a huge part of worries about the process of the viva comes down to a mismatch between personal expectations of candidates and general experiences in the viva.
You could have an idea about what the viva is like that is radically different from the experience of the viva. You won’t know until you find out more. If an expectation for your viva is troubling you then check it with some friends, colleagues or your supervisor.
Being worried won’t help you though. Worry is the first thing. You have to work your way to a better place.
Let’s keep it simple.
These points are all simple. The last one, however, might not be easy.
You’re not the first person to feel nervous, excited, unprepared or whatever you feel before your viva. Ask around, find out how others coped.
You’re not the only person in your viva who might feel nervous, wanting to do a good job. Remember that your examiners also want the viva to go well. And you’re not the only person in your viva who will be prepared. You prepare because you want to pass; your examiners prepare because it’s the right thing to do, to show up ready to examine you.
You’re not the only person who will have felt uncertain during the viva before – so again, ask your friends about what their vivas were like, what they did when they felt unsure.
And you’re not the only person who will feel thrilled when you pass, so consider how you can celebrate your success when you’ve finished.
If you were accepted on to a PhD programme…
…and if you did the work over a long period of time, overcoming difficulties along the way…
…and if you made a significant, original contribution…
…and if you kept going even through 2020, despite change and pressures…
…and if you’ve written your thesis as best you can…
…and if you’ve taken a little time to get ready for your viva, continuing to show your commitment…
…then…
Well, then why wouldn’t your viva go well for you?
PhD candidates often want to know about the “average” viva:
This is to be expected and a good set of expectations is really helpful for a candidate. There are plenty of questions about the average viva, but perhaps it’s even more useful to focus on questions for the amazing viva?
And, most importantly, what will you do to show up with as much confidence as you can find for this amazing event?
Expectations help, but so does preparation that raises you way above the average.
“Have fun!” is a better encouragement for the viva than “good luck” or “don’t worry”.
What if instead of wondering if your viva would go well, you just assumed that it was going to be enjoyable? Maybe then instead of asking yourself endless worried what if questions, you could ask:
Plenty of candidates enjoy their viva. Why not you?
The years of your PhD programme are enough time to do your research and develop yourself.
Several weeks of small tasks is enough preparation time to get yourself ready for your viva.
A matter of hours will be enough time to convince your examiners that you’ve done something significant and that you’re a capable researcher.
And while your PhD journey and thesis are impressive, after you’re done, you have enough time to go do something even more impressive!
So what will you do?
You need to hear a few stories before a full picture of the viva comes into focus.
One bad story could convince you (wrongly) that you’re in for a bad time.
One good story wouldn’t explain enough of what to generally expect.
Listen to the stories of PhD graduates generally to get an overall sense of what happens. Ask two or three friends from your department about their vivas to begin to get a sense of the process, expectations and experiences that candidates have in the viva. Vivas are generally fine. They can be challenging but not negative, difficult but not something that needs to be endured.
A sample of one isn’t enough, but a few stories can help you feel good for the challenge ahead.